Congressman Harris Applauds USDA Decision to End Solar Mandates on Farmland

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) applauds U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins for ending the use of taxpayer dollars to fund solar projects on farmable land and for banning solar panels made by foreign adversaries in USDA-funded projects.

Announced yesterday, the new policy addresses the growing strain on farmland across the country. According to USDA, solar panels on farmland nationwide have increased by nearly 50% since 2012. Maryland state mandates pressured counties into accepting large-scale solar projects on productive farmland, resulting in reduced land available for agriculture and driving up costs for the next generation of farmers.

Many rural leaders have strongly opposed recent Maryland legislation, which stripped counties of their authority to regulate large-scale solar projects, forcing local farmers to upend their livelihoods for costly and inefficient solar energy farmland. This is yet another example by the Democrat controlled Maryland legislature of another bad decision in a series of deeply flawed energy policy choices.

Maryland farmers and local leaders alike have warned that implementing solar panels on the farmland will render it unusable for future agricultural endeavors due to the lack of decommissioning standards.  Of the current solar “farms,” they also cite their concerns about the environmental and public safety risks from foreign-manufactured panels and battery systems.

Statement from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins:
“Our prime farmland should not be wasted and replaced with green new deal subsidized solar panels. It has been disheartening to see our beautiful farmland displaced by solar projects, especially in rural areas that have strong agricultural heritage. One of the largest barriers of entry for new and young farmers is access to land. Subsidized solar farms have made it more difficult for farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available. We are no longer allowing businesses to use your taxpayer dollars to fund solar projects on prime American farmland, and we will no longer allow solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries to be used in our USDA-funded projects,” Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

Statement from Congressman Harris:
“I applaud Secretary Rollins’ directive to end solar panel subsidies. The Trump Administration must continue to end wasteful green new scam subsidies that have driven up energy costs and taken farmland out of production. In the rural areas of my district, we must continue to work to protect our prime farmland for its much needed food production for generations to come,” Congressman Harris said.

The USDA press release can be read HERE. 

Media Contact: Michella Carter (202) 225-5311| Michella.Carter@mail.house.gov